Happy Holidays from Maui

-Mele Kalikimake-



Iao Valley State Park was our first stop, home to the 1,200- foot Iao Needle that overlooks Iao stream. It is a beautifully tropical valley that is historically significant for the battle where King Kamehameha defeated Maui’s forces and took advantage of the lookout point. We arrived before all the cram packed tourist busses showed up, so we were able to take advantage of the tropical scenery. It turned out that hiking barefoot was the best way to traverse the steep slippery slopes with the best traction so that’s the way I went. The full trail is 10 miles long and over 4,000 acres of breathtaking landscapes; we made it a couple of miles and decided to keep on trekking to our next destination, which was to acquire some famous Maui banana bread.

We continued on via Maui’s rugged North Shore by the Honoapi’ilani and Kehekili Highways where we stopped for what I believe to be the best banana bread on Maui. Still warm, fresh banana bread (Caution: coconuts fall from above, but make for a nice snack) life doesn’t get much better than that. At least not until you arrive at the famous Nakalele Blowhole, a place where the pounding surf has worn away a shoreline lava shelf. A hole causes a geyser-like effect that can reach over 100 feet high. On this day the surf was particularly large, one could say if you weren’t paying attention a bystander could get swept away. Taken back by the majestic mist rainbows and hermit crabs we were indeed almost taken out to sea by an unsuspecting wave, luckily we were all able to outrun the danger (no wonder they have these signs posted).

 

I’m still waiting for the pictures some tourist lady took of us running for our lives with a ginormous 30 foot wave crashing at our heels, ha, won’t do that again! The rest of the day was spent sunbathing and wave jumping at Honokahua Bay in Northwest Maui, where the surf gets larger than any other neighboring beach.

Christmas Eve was spent in search of the famous red sand beach in Hana Maui. We left before the sun came up over the horizon on a journey to Hana. After stopping at many self-serve fruit stands and finding a papaya bigger than my head we eventually traversed the Cliffside to be awe stuck by what we found. Kaihalulu Beach, also known as the red sand beach (AKA: red pebble beach) where nature has created a serene swimming hole barricaded off by coral. It was truly spectacular, surrounded by eroded cliffsides, hippy girls and even a banjo, harmonica playing traveler.                       

Christmas morning the alarm clock starting buzzing at 2:30AM and we were on our way to meet the “house of the sun” home to Maui’s highest peak, rising 10,023 feet above sea level. With the Christmas music blasting we made it through the never ending switch backs to gaze up at the shooting stars in the brisk morning air. Before long the sky began to change from pitch black hues of dark blue and transcend to break taking layers of orange and purples. Instead of rushing to open presents under a tree, we shared a beautiful gift of love by watching the sun rise another day over the Haleakala Crater.

What better way to bring in the New Year other than going on one of the best hikes Maui. 4 miles round trip, gaining 650-feet in elevation, through a bamboo forest to gaze upon the “Multnomah Falls” of Maui officially named Waimoku Falls. This gorgeous 400 foot waterfall that eventually fuels the Oheo pools (seven sacred pools) was well worth the hike. Happy New Year 2014 from the Fletchers!

Endangered

Visiting Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge in Kauai, I spotted three species Ive always wanted to see. My first sighting of a Laysan Albatross, Hawaii’s State bird (Nene) and a humpback whale!

 However, even after spending the night camping in Waimea Canyon State Park, wettest spot on earth at 3,250 feet in elevation I have yet to see an endemic Hawaiian Honeycreeper.

Our quest to be inspired and in awe of nature is ongoing so we shall trek on.

Happy travels!

Turtles

Snorkeling in Hawaii is one of our favorite past times. Many nearby beaches on the North shore offer wonderful sightings of Honu. The majestic creature with eyes of an old soul is really a spectacular spectacle. I could hover over a turtle in the water for hours enjoying the symbiotic relationship between the Honu and reef fish!

Parasaling in Oahu

Parasailing over Maunalua Bay on the South East shores. A thrilling experience that turned out to be exciting, pleasantly peaceful and stunningly beautiful. From high above the boat we were able to see Koko crater and the Ko’olau Mountain Range. This was truly something I would recommend anyone to try; it’s not as terrifying as it looks! Just be prepared for when they bring you down and dunk you in the ocean!!

Ziplining in Maui (Haleakala)

With Skyline Eco-adventures we decided to soar over gulches, hike over swinging bridges and enjoy 5 zip lines. Included was one of the fastest zips in the U.S. where you can get speeds up to 50 MPH, this one definitely made my hands sweat! We enjoyed nice views of seasonal pools below and the wonderful scent of towering eucalyptus trees. A nice way to end the day is to stop at the Kula lodge for some delicious salad and brick oven pizza. Enjoy the gorgeous sunset view from upcountry Maui!

Makapuu Lighthouse Trail and Tide Pools

We took a 45-minute hike to the top of a ridge and according to some of my co-workers there is an off trail down the side of a cliff that leads to beautiful tide pools. Andrew and I decided to be adventurous and follow a group of other people headed down the rock wall like mountain goats. To my surprise this was one of the scariest hikes I have ever done prior to Stairway to Heaven, due to the magnitude of the sheer cliff side and steep embankment with loose pebbles. Andrew really had to coach me down and keep me calm, but in the end when we reached the bottom and bathed in the azure pacific it was magnificent. The climb back up wasn’t nearly as treacherous. Overall it was a great place to cool off after the hike and I enjoyed spying underwater on all the zebra blennies.

At the top of the trail, getting ready to head down to the tide pools.

View from of the tide pools.

Stairway To Heaven

 This may be the only bad review ever written about the stairway to heaven on the island of Oahu. I consider myself a very active and adventurous person but I will be completely honest in saying that I never plan on revisiting this hike again. Everyone raves about this particular hike, but since doing it I have been scared to do anything like it again. It could have been that in order to attempt this hike we started at 12:00AM and pulled an all nighter, something I haven’t done since college. The fascinating thing that enticed me was the mysterious views promised by other survivors.  The stairs were originally installed in 1942 by the military to provide communication from one peak to another and have since been remodeled and closed to the public due to land owner disputes.  The night we went there was over one hundred people at the top; which shows many people are still checking the hike off their bucket list. It was a chilly cloudy night with promised rain showers, but we trekked on to climb 3,922 stairs to the top. It was a very steep crawl in what I considered a vertical ladder. In many cases if I lost my footing or the wet railing that was provided could not hold me I could have fallen to my death or been seriously injured. In the pitch black my fears were shaded by the unknown and I had no idea what lurked ahead. At the last platform I didn’t know if I had it in me to continue on and if it wasn’t for Andrew I wouldn’t have made it to the top. After making it to the top, sideways rain and 40 MPH gusts of wind blew us in every direction, where we begged the sun to rise so we could make our descent down in the light. It was 2 hours later we began down, soaking wet and freezing cold. I may have been the only person who cried and considered being rescued by helicopter from this hillside but with confidence I can say I made it down 7 hours later! I would recommend this hike to people in extremely good physical condition and to those who are not scared of heights. The experience will stretch your limits and push you farther than you ever thought possible.